Communication

On this first day after the Easter Weekend, 2010, many of us have watched friends and relatives leave for their distant homes. It is always sad to see our loved ones depart, but very easy to keep track of their progress as they travel. We have email, text messaging and telephones of all sorts. We can also be fairly certain that we will see them again, in the not too distant future.
Things were very different on April 16, 1849 when my great-grandfather, Martin Reager, left his home in Missouri to seek his fortune in the gold fields of California. He left behind his father and several siblings, his mother having passed away a few years before this departure.
Martin was only 19 years old, traveling with his grandfather Corder and cousin Jim, in a conestoga wagon pulled by a team of oxen. He would never return to his home in the east. They joined a train of 60 wagons planning to reach the Golden State by the Laramie Trail. The journey took five months, nearly exactly, and they arrived at the Lassen Ranch near the present site of Vina on September 17th.
Letters were the only method of communication at that time, 161 years ago, and they were slow to arrive. The latest news would be sent, but was sure to be far out of date by the time it reached family members any distance away. There was no way of knowing of your loved ones were in good health, or even still alive.
The only means to have peace of mind, in those pioneer days, was reliance on God. Individuals had to commit their loved one into His keeping and trust that they would meet again in heaven, if not in this life.
Times have changed and we are able keep in touch with our distant friends and relatives. Still there is very little we can do to help and protect them. Our only true course is still to pray and rely on the One who holds the future and holds them in His hand.